Always make sure you have plenty of blank rows below the table if you are going to be entering a lot of information. If inserting new data is going to overwrite any existing data, then the new data will not be accepted. The Data Form does not have a quick way to allow you to enter auto-repeating information into any of the fields. This can be annoying and will mean you will have to scroll up to then complete the record. Pressing the Enter key at any time while you are entering your data will cause the record to be added. Select the character to the right within a field Select the character to the left within a field Move to the same field 10 records forwardĮxtend the selection to the beginning of the fieldĮxtend the selection to the end of the field Move to the first field in the previous record Move to the first field in the next record Move to the previous field you can edit in the record Move to the next field you can edit in the record Move to the same field in the previous record Move to the same field in the next record Using Filters is more effective than using the search criteria although if the list is very long and the criteria is very specific then the data form is a good choice. Sorting your table of data first will speed up searching for records once your table reaches a certain size.Įxcel ignores uppercase and lowercase when searching a database table. To search for dates, salaries etc you must enter the whole number or whole date. Typing the first few characters will work only for non-numeric data. When you are entering data criteria you can use any valid date format. So entering the letter "B" will find everything that begins with a "B". When entering any text criteria, be aware that an asterisk wildcard character will be automatically appended to your text entry. When you click Find Next or Find Prev Excel takes you to the next (or previous) record that satisfies all the conditions. If you enter criteria into more than one edit box then only rows that match all criteria will be displayed when you use Find Prev and Find Next. This includes edit boxes for all fields and allows to type in conditions allowing you to search the various columns. You can use the Criteria button to locate individual records within your list.Ī new dialog box will be displayed - looking very similar to the main one. Once you have finished press Enter or you can press "New" again to enter a another new record. When you add rows to your list the list is expanded downwards without affecting any cells outside the list.
Notice that the label in the top right corner will change to display "New Record"
You can select the New button to add a new row of data to your list. This form always shows the data from the first row when the dialog box is initially displayed, regardless of the active cell.Īny cells that contain formulas are displayed as values and not as editable text boxes. The dialog box also displays the total number of records and the scrollbar allows you to scroll the list record by record or many records at a time. You can use the Tab, Shift + Tab, the underlined hotkeys, or the mouse to move between the different fields.
This dialog box will display a maximum of 32 fields.
New - Clears the dialog box allowing you to enter a new record which is added to the bottom of your table.ĭelete - Removed the current record from the table.įind Next - Moves to the next record in the table.įind Previous - Moves to the previous record in the table.Ĭriteria - Clears the dialog box entries and allows you to type in your search criteria.Īt the top of the form is the name of the active worksheet (not the workbook).Īll the column headings from your table are listed on the left hand side. To display this dialog box select any cell within the table and select Form from the Quick Access Toolbar. You can use this dialog box to enter and edit the information in a database list. If the row below this data is not blank, then any new information cannot be added. Press this command to display the Dialog Box. To be able to use the Data Form you must have a list of data arranged in a table like structure.Ĭhange the "choose command from" to All Commands This dialog box works as a multipurpose form allowing you to enter, search and view records in a list. The dialog box allows you to enter new records, delete records and search for specific records that meet a certain criteria. Using a dialog box to enter and maintain the information can make it much quicker and is often easier for people who are less familiar with Excel. You can add information to a list of data by moving to the next blank row below the list and typing the new information.Īlternatively you can use a built-in dialog box called the Data Form to enter this information.